


The Path to Vengeance

by PokehTurtle, snapfreeze



Category: RWBY
Genre: Demons, F/F, Past Abuse, Romance, Supernatural - Freeform, angels sort of, hello i love demons, oh my, sex probably i mean lets be real here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2019-10-19 14:22:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17602988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PokehTurtle/pseuds/PokehTurtle, https://archiveofourown.org/users/snapfreeze/pseuds/snapfreeze
Summary: Desperation leads people to do insane things. For Blake, that meant trying to summon a spirit of vengeance to help her put her nightmares to rest. For Weiss, it meant begging for salvation. Both soon realize that there may be more truth to the ancient fairy tales and stories they were told long ago.





	1. Chapter 1

The room was lit by dim candles, flickering, starving for oxygen. Blake’s breath came in shaky waves. She’d meticulously planted everything; the candles were the exact right distance apart, the paint on the ground traced perfectly. It smelled overwhelmingly of spice and sage and Blake almost gagged from the strength of the scent. 

“Here goes…” Her teeth clenched and she drew the knife across her hand. She winced an averted her eyes from the blood seeping out of the cut, splattering onto the old concrete floor of her parents’ neglected tool shed. 

She waited.

And she waited. 

Nothing. 

Blake exhaled a breath she’d been keeping locked up in her chest for a week. Of course it didn’t work. This was nonsense. Absolute, _bloody_ , nonsense. She winced as she accidentally bumped the cut on her hand; it wasn’t deep, but she’d gone far enough to draw blood. 

“God-fucking dammit.” She mumbled as she bandaged her hand and brainstormed convenient excuses about tripping and falling to explain the injury. Blake blew out the candles, leaving the room dark and cold, suddenly empty and devoid of life. 

It was chilly outside; that was the first thing Blake noticed. Trees were shedding their leaves like snakes leaving behind their skin, red and yellow leaves littering the ground. The sky was swirling grey and white and the threat of rain was real. 

Blake decided she’d come back and clean everything up later before she got soaked. Her parents never checked the shed anyways; everything was coated in centimeters of dust and the only things that really stayed there now were spiders. 

Of _course_ it had been a stupid idea. She was stupid to ever think something so insane would work. Her feet slammed against the pavement in frustration, enough so that passersby stared and glanced, murmuring to each other about _that_ girl, the one silent in her anger, the one they saw walking around always staring at her feet.

Her friends were sitting on a small brick wall, swinging their legs back and forth as they passed around some sort of smoothie to each other. Sharing was caring; sans meningitis.

“Hey Blake!” Her friend Sun chirped, his short mop of blond hair getting tousled by the breeze. 

“Want some Blake?” Neptune, the blue haired boy sitting next to Sun offered her the double dipped smoothie. 

“No thanks.” Blake put a hand up in response before hoping up on the small wall with the two boys. 

Sun eyed her carefully, furrowing his brow. “What the heck happened to your hand? Did you fall or something.” 

“Bingo.” Blake popped the B. Her face was cradled between her hands as she looked out on the road, watching faceless people drive by in their cars. “Where’s Illia?” 

“She got called into work I think.” Neptune responded, before drinking his smoothie way too fast and giving himself a brain freeze. Sun laughed and slapped him on the back. 

“Well, what should we do today guys!” Sun gleefully hopped off the wall, knees bent and shoes landing with a satisfying pound on the concrete. “Uni starts back up next week! We’ve only got 7 more days of freedom!” 

“You sound like a high schooler.” Blake rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips. Sun and Neptune were goofy and often childish, but it was a refreshing take and one she appreciated. She had a dark atmosphere around herself sometimes, but everyone needed to act like a dumb kid now and again. 

Or most of the time. 

They ended up going down to the lake and trying and failing to skip rocks across it, eventually opting to instead throw the biggest possible rocks they could find into the water to cause the biggest KERPLOOP they possibly could. Blake called it quits after accidentally getting doused in murky lake water. She wanted to change out of her cardigan before she froze to death in the autumn chill. 

Her walk home was uneventful, almost painfully so. She’d gotten a single text from Illia, apologizing for not being able to make it today, and then radio silence. Blake’s keys jangled in her pocket as she fumbled for them. 

She’d gotten close to opening the door to her house when she caught the old tool shed in the corner of her eye. 

_Ugh, I forgot to clean up._ All she could manage was a groan as she quickly ran inside to get some cleaning supplies, thankful that her parents were having another late night at the office. The lock stuck as she tried to open it and she had to practically body slam the door to get it open. It didn't surprise her; the shed was practically ancient, covered in dirt and favored by cobwebs. 

“Fucking Christ, you scared the shit out of me.”

Her cleaning supplies fell out of her hands and onto the ground, clattering, screeching against the floor. Blake fell backwards, hands suddenly sweaty and breath short, mouth chattering as she attempted to say, well, anything. There wasn't supposed to be anyone there, yet there they stood. 

Red eyes stared back at her, illuminated by the candles that suddenly relit themselves as if by magic. Their owner smiled at her with a set of gleaming white teeth. Her expression was mirthful, bemused, and she tilted her head and laughed at Blake’s reaction. 

“W-who-” Was about all Blake could manage to get out, considering a woman had gotten into her parents locked shed, had red eyes, demon horns, and was completely naked. 

“I was wondering when you’d show up! I’ve been waiting.” There was a sing-song quality to her voice. She moved over towards Blake, who hadn’t been able to get herself back up off the ground yet. The woman’s hair was a waterfall of golden curls that shone in the candlelight; it was eerily beautiful, considering how terrifying and awkward the situation was.

She crouched down on a knee in front of Blake and eyed her closely. Blake forced herself to stare at her horns and not her-

“Call me Yang.” The woman said smugly, as if Blake ought to be honored to be in her presence, like a subject before a queen. If the events hadn’t been so downright impossible, Blake might have just called her that. 

The red eyed woman continued staring at her, waiting for a response. Blake found herself laughing, in that awkward uncomfortable way where she was trying to convince herself that the situation was funny, despite the fact that her veins had gone ice cold in terror. 

“This is a joke right? Did Sun put you up to this?” Blake forced the laughter out of her throat.

“Um, no? You summoned me.” Yang responded, standing back up. She paused and looked around the room. “Uh, you _did_ summon me, right? Otherwise this would be super awkward.” 

The horned woman started laughing as well, though hers was decidedly more lighthearted than Blake’s. 

“Demons aren’t real.” Blake backed up on the floor, closer to the door. She was waiting for the moment she woke up. 

“Hey, I assure you,” Blake’s back hit the door as Yang approached her again, cradling her chin with her hand suggestively. “I’m very real, Blake.” 

“How do you-”

"know my name?" Yang cut her off before she could continue. 

“I’m like, magic and stuff! I mean-” She gestured behind her, where the summoning circle and candles Blake had set up earlier still remained. “What were you expecting?” 

“Not this!” Blake spat the words out, too confused, too frightened. 

“Hey look,” Yang’s face became more stern, her patience beginning to run low. “Do you want revenge or not?”

That made Blake’s blood chill. There’s no way Sun, Neptune, or even Ilia, could have known about this and why she’d done it, so unless some crazy 20 something year old had broken into her parent’s tool shed then…

“... can you help me?” Blake whispered quietly as the realization set in. “Are you really real?”

Yang snapped her fingers, looking smug once again, a small flame appearing in the palm of your hand. “It’s what I’m here for babe.”

“I want you to kill him.” The words sprung out of her mouth faster and with more vitriol than she had anticipated. It felt like acid pouring out of her mouth, burning her tongue. 

“Oh, Blake.” Yang smiled wickedly. “I’m not going to kill him.” 

Her red eyes flared with fire. 

“ _We’re_ , going to kill him.”


	2. Chapter 2

She had nightmares. A lot. They kept her up at night, kept her from getting any real rest. She felt bruises where there were none littered all over her body, invisible, gnawing insects, always crawling and scraping, crawling and scraping. 

It felt like she was always drowning, flailing her arms about her like a child that didn’t know how to swim. It made her feel lesser. Like nothing. Water filled her lungs nightly and it was only the shock of being jolted awake that kept her from drowning. 

She felt in her chest a great weight that wouldn’t go away. All because of a stupid mistake she’d made almost two years ago now. 

It plagued her so much that she remembered the old stories her mother had told her as a child, about vengeful spirits that came to help the living, to help bring revenge and justice. 

It plagued her so much that she decided to put her faith in them, that she tried tricking herself into believing in the supernatural. 

Children’s stories. Her mother had always been the superstitious type. It couldn’t hurt to try. 

The warmth of the sun falling on her face through the cracked blinds caused her to stir from her chaotic sleep, eyelids fluttering open in protest from the sudden light. 

“Oh, you’re awake!” 

Blake was about 3 seconds away from screaming her head off when a warm, pale hand quickly covered her mouth. 

“H-hey, your parents are still here, you’ll wake them!” 

Now more than fully awake, Blake found herself very close to the face of ‘Yang’, who was wearing _her_ clothes, now had _purple_ eyes, and was missing the terrifying demon horns she had had the night prior. At least she was butt naked anymore.

Blake began speaking something, muffled from the hand still covering her mouth.

“Oh, oops. Continue.”

She made a disgusted face, tongue sticking out as if she’d been personally offended. “Your hand smells bloody disgusting! Smells like… burnt _meat_ and a house fire.”

Yang shrugged as her eyes darted to the side, a flash of red. “Eh. It might go away. What were you saying?”

“I was trying to ask where your… you know,” Blake whispered the next part, “demon-ness went. Like, where are the horns and the red eyes? And why are you wearing my clothes?”

“I only took a sweater and some jeans. Your shirts or bras didn’t fit me. Like, wow, I didn’t know how big I was until I tried on your B-cup paw print bra.”

Blake groaned, utterly embarrassed, hiding the incoming blush by burying into her black pillow.

“Also like, while I was rummaging through your drawers, I found the cutest lil’--”

Yang could not finish her sentence, as she had been hit squarely in the face with said pillow.

“I _said_ it was cute!”

Blake mentally forced her flush away with every ounce of willpower she had and glared at Yang, who was looking altogether looking way too relaxed about the whole situation, like a child at a theme park, exploring Blakes bedroom. She thumbed through Blake’s secretly purchased book on demonology, amused, chuckling. 

“I’m not entirely convinced yet that I’m not hallucinating.” She rubbed her temples thoughtfully and closed her eyes. 

She opened them. Yang was still there, smiling at her. 

She closed her eyes again. Maybe this time it would work. 

“Blaaaaaake.” 

Yang was still there. 

“Ugh.” Blake collapsed back onto her bed. “This is not happening.”

“Again,” Yang came closer to her bed and pointed at her bandaged hand. “‘what were you expecting? You made a blood sacrifice and everything. Offering up blood is like, the most occult thing you can do.”

“I don’t know!” Blake was far beyond exasperated. “Look, if you’re really a demon, then shouldn’t you be, I don’t know…”

She gestured something indistinct with her hands wildly. “‘Doing demon things?”

Yang’s expression turned sinister, eyes briefly flashing red. Blake’s blood chilled. “Oh, we’ll get to that. Trust me.”

And in the blink of an eye her demeanor had turned back to goofy. “But first we need to go shopping. You know, the whole bra situation.”

She gestured to her generous assets. “As cozy as this sweater is, I ought to get something a bit more convincing.”

“Why do you need clothes in the first place? You’re a demon.” Blake clenched her fists tightly and her knuckles went white. Her patience was drying up faster than water shriveling away in the desert. 

All the emotions that had wracked her the night before when she sliced open her hand rushed back, every bruise and every scar and cut and abrasion burned like fire on her skin, every kiss and touch and every lie and threat rushed to the front of her mind. 

“You’re supposed to be killing Adam!”

The name nearly caught in her throat and threatened to choke her. She couldn’t even believe she’d said it. 

Yang looked at her coolly, eyes as dangerous and sharp as knives. 

“It doesn’t work like that Blakey.” 

Yang paced around her bed, threatening, predator circling prey. “I don’t exact vengeance for you. I help you exact it for yourself. Would it be any fun if you didn’t get to kill him yourself?”

“Fuck _off_.” Blake hissed, emboldened as she stared down the red eyes of a demon. “You clearly don’t know what I want at all.”

“Blake, honey? Are you awake? There’s breakfast if you want some!” Her mother’s voice called out from down the stairs. Blake had never felt closer to having a heart attack than that moment. 

Yang laughed slightly at Blake’s startled reaction, at her amber eyes gone wide. 

“You’ll come around. Why don’t you have some pancakes? We’ll talk again later.”

“I’m not leaving you alone in my room.” Blake snapped as she looked through her drawers for an outfit, noting the mess Yang had made with her stuff with a labored roll of the eyes. 

“I suppose you can introduce me to your parents as your new girlfriend that you smuggled in overnight.” 

Blake turned into an actual tomato. 

“ _Absolutely_ not.”

“Look, I’m not going to do anything. I’ll just wait here ok?” Yang plopped down onto the edge of Blake’s bed, patting the fabric. “Ooh, this is cozy…”

Blake groaned and ran a hand over her face slowly. “Fine. Just, don’t touch anything.”

Yang smiled at her like a mischievous child and waved goodbye to her as she left her room. Her mom always went full hog when it came to breakfast: bacon, eggs, pancakes, hash browns; it was a spread that any hungry college student would do backflips for. 

“There you are.” Her mother Kali wrapped her in a hug as she walked over to the table. “Did you sleep well? There’s tea on the table for you.” 

“She certainly slept in long enough.” Ghira, her father, laughed from behind his newspaper. He was old fashioned in that way. 

“Hey, I’m on break, I can sleep in as long as I want.” Blake retorted with a grin. She was lucky she was able to stay with her parents over her mini vacation; they didn’t live all that far from campus.

Blake helped herself to a massive plate of food and wondered if Yang would need any. 

_Do demons even eat food?_ She brushed the thought off as she shoved a strip of bacon into her mouth. The family cats were sneaking around underneath the table, rubbing up against their owners legs and loudly protesting the fact that they weren’t getting any table scraps. 

“What are you guys gonna be up to today?” Blake asked, drinking her tea. 

“Arguing with Sienna.” Ghira grumbled. Kali rolled her eyes as she sat down next to him, a hand on his shoulder. 

“She’ll come around dear.” 

Blake frowned. She’d met Sienna a few times and the woman wasn’t always… agreeable.

“What about you Blake? Hanging out with your friends again?” 

Blake tried not to choke on her eggs. She _was_ supposed to hang out with them again, but there was a rather large, hellish problem hiding in her room she had to deal with. Her parents gave her a funny look as she furrowed her brow. 

“Uh, probably. I have some stuff I need to take care of though.” It wasn’t technically a lie. 

“Well, just keep us posted.” There was a flash of worry on her mother’s face and Blake knew why. Any parent would worry about their child, especially if they had Blake’s... history. 

The conversation switched back over to casual topics, like the weather, how Blake’s classes were going, how Sun and the others were doing. When she was done she gave her plate a quick rinse and popped it in the dishwasher before running back up to her room, nearly wiping out on the edge of the stairs. 

True to her word, Yang was still there, sprawled out on top of her bed, still in her clothes, and sleeping with a sweet, contented look on her face. 

Blake really could not believe this shit. 

She grabbed Yang’s arm and shook her roughly, noting how muscular the demon’s arms were before drop kicking that thought straight out of her brain. 

“Mphwa? What time is it?” Yang was barely intelligible through her yawn. 

“Seriously? Are you really a demon or are you just the couch-crasher from hell?”  
Blake’s hands were on her hips, digging into her sides with a violent grip. 

“Hey, you haven’t even seen me in action yet.” Yang stretched wide and high like a cat. “C’mon, let’s go shopping! It’s been too long since I get to stretch my legs.”

“And how exactly do you plan on paying for new clothes? I don’t remember you materializing a _wallet._ ” Blake made sure every consonant was hard as a brick.

“What, you don’t wanna spot me a little bit?”

“No.”

“Preeeetty please?”

“No.”

“Ugh, fine.” Yang pursed her lips out like a petulant child, garnering another eye roll from Blake. “I’ve got a backup plan. But let’s go! I’m going stir crazy.”

“Fine. But we have to wait for my parents to leave for work. They should be gone in an hour.” 

“Oh, in that case, can I use that cute little-” 

Blake threw her pillow at Yang’s face so hard it knocked the demon clear on her stupid beautiful ass.

\-----

Yang’s amusement with the downtown area was almost endearing. Almost. She gawked at all the stores and pointed at fancy cars and occasionally grabbed onto Blake’s sleeve like a kid telling their mother at a zoo to look at some animals. 

It was exhausting. Blake was never having kids. 

She took them to one of her favorite stores, a local place that had stylish clothing for the discerning young adult at fairly reasonable prices. Yang immediately went over to the lingerie section and started looking over the selection with a gleeful look in her eyes. Blake thought she’d look good in anything, even the cheesiest, laciest garments. She hadn’t known what to expect from a demon, but Yang was by every definition of the word attractive. Gorgeous hair, curves in all the right places, athletic, and her chest- 

Blake blushed and made sure no one could see her face as she recalled Yang’s naked form. 

“Picking out something nice for a lucky guy?” One of the employees sauntered over to Yang with a knowing look, a crooked eyebrow. 

Yang smiled sweetly and laughed, a tone that would make any guy feel lucky; cute, seductive, playful. Her eyes narrowed lustfully and Blake bit her tongue as she watched.

“ _Girl_ , actually.” 

Blake choked on nothing. 

“O-oh, well,” The employee couldn’t help but blush herself, “all these on this shelf here are on sale right now. J-just let us know if you have any questions!” 

Yang politely thanked her and went back to browsing. Blake slid up next to her, looking a bit flustered. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Um, shopping?” 

“With that employee!”

“Oh. Well I mean it’s true. Met maybe one guy that could keep up with me in all my many years Blake. Girls are just too damn pretty.”

Yang shrugged and held up a bra to inspect it. Blake fought back the blush that had made its home on her face.

“... how old are you anyways? Do demons even have an age?”

Yang snorted and moved over to the shirts, satisfied with the undergarments she’d picked out. 

“What year is it again?” She asked offhandedly. 

“... 2019.”

“Man I don’t even know, like about 2000?”

Blake choked on nothing again. The fact that she could even breathe still at this point was astounding. 

“W-what? Are you serious?” There’s no way that was true. She’d have seen civilizations rise and fall, war, peace, industrialization-

Yang saw the shock on Blake’s face and initially held that same shit eating smirk of hers before her demeanor became much more somber. She seemed distant for the first time.

“When I was human, I lived in the Han dynasty, in Luoyang.”

Blake opened her mouth to demand more explanations. When she was human? Yang’s expression of utter sorrow stopped her dead in her tracks. She closed her mouth and remained silent next to Yang, suddenly withdrawn in a complete contradiction to her earlier boisterous behavior. 

“Well, anyways, what do you think of this?” Yang’s smile returned as she held up a long sleeved flannel button down in front of Blake. 

“... um, it’s cute?”

They ended up deciding on a simple outfit for Yang: dark denim pants, some new shoes, the _underwear_ , and a basic white v neck shirt paired with a faux leather biker jacket to keep out the cold. 

Blake’s new demon companion had of course, been completely full of shit and she ended up paying for everything. 

“This is insane.” Blake grumbled as they exited the store. “Look, you said you’d get to the demon stuff earlier. When exactly is that happening?”

“When we come up with a plan to kill Adam Taurus.” Yang eyes flashed red. “Then I can help you. That’s how we get you your vengeance Blake.”

Blake’s face lost any of the flush she’d acquired earlier and went three shades paler. Her throat was a desert and her hands had started shaking imperceptibly. 

“I… kill someone? I don’t think I can-“

Yang grabbed her shaking hands, her eyes back to that pale shade of purple. 

“... it takes time. But in that moment, that’s what you wanted. Right? Otherwise I wouldn’t be here. The ritual wouldn’t have worked.”

Blake looked down and avoided eye contact, silently admitting her guilt. Yang’s hand was warm, like fire or more like the sun. It should have burnt but it didn’t. 

“Anyways,” Yang pulled her hand away and stretched her arms forward. “Aren’t you supposed to hang out with your friends or something tonight? I’ll meet up with you later.”

“And where do you think you’re going?”

“It helps to start with information, doesn’t it?” Yang stuck her hands in her pockets and started walking off.

“Wh- you don’t even have a phone! You can’t just walk off. What are you planning?” Blake demanded an answer. 

“Trust me.” Yang’s response was wicked and heavy, eyes molten cores, not threatening, but overwhelming in their confidence. 

That was enough to convince Blake. Yang walked off without her into the city, leaving Blake standing on the corner dumbfounded and frightened. 

\-----

“I don’t want anymore Sun.” Blake rubbed her temples and looked at the two empty glasses in front of her. She and Ilia were not heavy drinkers, unlike Sun and Neptune, and the girl they’d invited out with them named Nora, who was proving to have the most powerful liver Blake had ever seen. 

“Break! Is! Almost! Over!” Sun comically responded, clapping on each word. “Once uni starts back up we’ll never be able to get you to come drinking with us, because you’re like, a 'good student'. Me and Neptune are paying for our cabs anyways, so you should let loose!”

Neptune and Nora nodded sagely together. Ilia just rolled her eyes. 

“Isn’t peer pressure supposed to be a high school thing?”

“Forget high school, they’re more like ten year olds.” Blake punched Sun playfully in the shoulder. 

He pretended to fall over before hopping up to get another round of drinks at the bar, sliding gracefully out of the booth the group had procured. 

Nora was babbling to Neptune about something she couldn’t really hear when Blake caught a head of curled, golden hair walking into the club, other patrons turning to gawk at the beautiful woman who had just entered. 

“You’ve got to be fucking joking.” Blake hustled out of the booth despite the sudden confusion of her friends. Yang caught her eyes almost immediately, the demon grinning widely as Blake approached her. 

“There you are!”

Blake grabbed her hand and dragged her off to a corner before she could say anything else. 

“How the hell did you know I was here? I didn't tell you where I was going!” She jabbed a finger roughly into Yang’s chest. 

Yang simply looked like it should have been obvious. “Well, we have a contract. It’d be silly if I couldn’t sense your presence.”

That thought made Blake so uncomfortable she wanted to leave her own skin. She took a step back from Yang. 

“Did you actually read those books in your room, or just the parts where it told you how to make me show up?” To her surprise, Yang’s expression was far less judgemental than she’d anticipated. She looked sad, her lilac eyes knowing, like she could see every inch of regret crawling its way into Blake’s chest like a swarm. 

“Look…” She mustered up the will to speak again. “I’m with my friends, I don’t want you here right now-“

“Blake! Who’s this?”

_Goddammit Sun!_

Her hyperactive friend had popped up right next to her, two brightly colored drinks in hand. 

“Um, this is Yang.” Blake ignored the fiery smirk on the demon’s face. “She’s uh-“

“I’m her _date._ ” 

Sun actually choked on his drink. He tried to cover up his coughing and his blush with an elbow, eyes darting back and forth between Blake and Yang like he was on a sitcom. 

“Wh- no you aren’t!” A very red Blake very loudly denied. 

Yang cackled, obviously proud of how well she’d gotten under the two’s skin. 

“I’m kidding! Blake and I met while shopping earlier and hit it off. I just happened to run into her again.”

Blake’s brain went from Defcon 1 to 5. Crisis averted. 

“O-oh.” Sun tripped on his words. “That’s great! Well we’re uh, sitting over there if you want to join us.”

_Oh please GOD no do not-_

Back to 1. 

“It’s up to Blake.” Yang shrugged casually. “I don’t wanna crash you guys’s get together.”

 _Not the response I expected._ Back to 5 again. 

Blake took a deep breath as subtly as she could, pulse finally slowing down a bit. 

“I uh,” Sun looked at her as she fumbled, confused. “I-it’s fine. You can join us Yang.”

 _Jesus why did I say that?!_ Blake kicked herself and then kicked herself again. 

“Oh, in that case I’ll be over in just a sec. Gotta get a drink first of course.” Yang’s expression was so surprised and genuinely happy it made Blake regret even of thinking about denying her. 

“I’ll go with you.” Blake said quickly. 

“Cool, see you guys back over there!” Sun was clearly confused but didn’t press the issue, happily walking back over to the group. 

“I assume I’ll be paying for your drinks too?” The tension Blake had been holding gradually dissipated. 

“Oh, nah I got this. I found some money earlier.” Yang pulled out a wallet full of crisp bills.

“You ‘found’ some money.” 

“Long story. Don’t worry, I didn’t do anything illegal.” Yang’s explanation did very little to convince Blake otherwise. 

When they reached the bar Yang quickly ordered a strawberry sunrise, explaining that’d she’d tried it once before and been hooked ever since. Blake ordered a jack and coke, suddenly feeling like she did need the extra alcohol. 

“So,” Blake began as they waited for their drinks, “can demons even get drunk?”

Yang cackled and winked at her. Blake’s pulse started rushing faster than a waterfall. “Wanna find out?” 

“Ugh. What are you doing here anyways? Didn’t you say you were ‘investigating’?”

“I was, and I did!” Yang responded with pride in her voice. “I wasn’t sure if you were still with your friends or not, but I figured I’d come find you. I didn’t have anything better to do.” 

She prevented Blake from paying the bartender and handed him a bill that covered both their drinks. 

“Payin’ you back for earlier. Well, at least some of it.” Yang hummed, looking far too sexy simply drinking out of her glass. Blake forced herself to look away when she found she was staring a bit too closely at the demon’s lips. 

“Well, let’s go I guess.” Blake shrugged and walked off. 

“I’ll be there in a sec.” Yang replied. Blake gave her a funny look but kept going. She kept her eyes on Blake for a moment before turning to the gentleman that had been standing next to her at the bar. 

“Hey buddy! Let me see your phone.” 

She ripped it out of his hands before he had a chance to protest, his face turning bright red from embarrassment and anger. “Hey, what the hell are you-“

“Do you always take pictures of girls without their permission?” Yang smiled sweetly but her eyes were red and the undercurrent of her voice was dark, dripping with murder. 

“‘I uh-“ Yang leaned in close to his ear as he babbled and whispered in his ear. 

“If you even so much as look at her again the rest of the night you’re going to end up in more pieces than your phone.”

He stared, jaw agape as Yang pulled away and crumpled up his phone in her hand, glass and electronics shattering quietly, crunching, leaning forward so that no one else at the bar would notice. Her expression made it clear that she relished every moment of it. 

She grabbed his wrist and dropped the remains of the device into his hand, his eyes going wide as he watched the cuts that Yang had sustained quickly heal.

“Have a good night.” The sentiment was pure venom. She took her drink and left him at the bar, frozen by fear, still as the night. 

\-----

Weiss never jumped to extremes. Her life was surrounded by them: her father’s strict right hand, the worker’s bloody left. She considered herself rational, able to think before acting. Each decision was carefully weighed against pros and cons, and only then did she execute. It saved pain, and kept herself out of her father’s ire largely.

This was how she justified the decision she had come to. For the average person, it was a desperate measure of a person at their rope’s end. However, for Weiss, it was the most logical conclusion.

Her father -- and by extension, her family -- had ruined entire generations of lives. Their greed, their need to monopolize and own, had incited a movement so violent that vengeance was beyond saving them.

What they needed, what she needed, was Justice.

That was why she had spent the better part of her morning clearing out her room, carefully shoving beds and dressers against the wall. She needed all the space possible. The next part was difficult -- using chalk to create circles that intertwined and overlapped, each carefully positioned as they spelt out a language barely understandable. Then, she circled that design, repeating the process and expanding outwards until most of her floor was carefully drawn in chalk.

Next, came the items, all bathed in salt. To the north, petals from a rose. To the east, a lock of her own hair bound by peppermint. To the west, feathers from a bird of prey. To the south, a horseshoe.

When everything was in place, she got down on her knees and began to whisper.

“This I do vow and this shall ever be; I will be true, despite thy scythe and thee.”

Blinding light overtook the room, forcing Weiss to cover her own eyes before her own retinas got burnt. As soon as she was able to remove her hand, what she saw floored Weiss. It was one thing to read about it, another to actually see it.

In front her was a being -- no, a young woman -- wrapped in silvery feathers made of light itself, her eyes a blazing white void. Weiss didn’t dare to look into them for more than a second, as she feared what was inside them, or what they might reflect.

Then, the wings unfolded, revealing glorious armor pieced together by white cloth. In one hand she held a scythe, and with the other, an armored hand reached out to her.

“I am Justice, and I heard your call.” Behind the voice, the true language spoke, a sound eerily similar to wind chimes and bells. She took a step forward, and Weiss, in both reverence and fear, took a step back. “Allow me to aid you in your time of--”

Her sabatons caught on one another, causing the seemingly holy creature to faceplant directly onto Weiss’s stone floor in an utter cacophony of metal. Rather pathetically, her wings flapped, letting loose feathers onto the ground.

“Ow! Oh heavens above and hell below, my nose, oh sh-- _sugar_ that hurt.”

“Excuse me? Is this a joke?” Weiss couldn’t believed this. She asked for an all-knowing being of what is right and just, not some random chinese teenager dressed in fantasy armor and glowsticks.

“I almost broke my nose!” ‘Justice’ rolled over onto her back, her armor clanging together and wings flopping into a tangled mess as she rubbed at the now bruised bridge of her nose.

“You’re _Justice_! You don’t just, fall over!”

“Well, I am Justice, and I just ate your floor!”

Using her scythe, she stood back up again. When she wasn’t surrounded by holy light, she looked much smaller. Justice was barely a few inches taller than she was, which was really not saying much.

“You rang, I answered, and I’m here to help!” Her stomach audibly rumbled. “Hey. I haven’t eaten for a while, do you have any food?”

“I. You’re serious.” Weiss stared at Justice for a few more moments, found that holy power in those silver eyes before missing and just a young... girl standing before her, stomach grumbling. 

“Did Winter put you up to this?” Weiss rubbed her temples fiercely. Maybe her sister had figured out what she was planning somehow despite all her secrecy. “Whitley?”

“I’m sorry who?” Justice’s mannerisms were so childish. 

“This isn’t happening.” Weiss turned around on her heels sharply to leave the room, shoes messing up the intricate chalk circles she had drawn earlier so painstakingly. 

“W-wait, are you going to get cookies? Cookies are my favorite! Unless they have raisins! Weiss, they don’t have raisins do they?” 

The loud metal clanking behind her indicated that she was being followed. 

“Weeeeeiss, wait!” 

Weiss did not wait and did not respond. She was furious and lucky that no one was around right now because she simply did not care enough to be subtle right now. 

“Stop following me!” She finally snapped. ‘Justice’ looked hurt, like a lost kitten or a kicked puppy, and Weiss felt a tinge of guilt at her outburst. Her silver eyes looked down at the floor and matched the color of the polished marble. 

“Look I’m-” Weiss took a deep, deep breath to steady her nerves. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. What’s your real name?”

The girl’s demeanor brightened immediately. “You can call me Ruby.” 

“I asked for your name, not what I can call you.” There wasn’t anger in her response, more a curiosity, confusion. 

Ruby smiled slyly in response. “It’s Ruby.” 

Weiss’s brow lowered, suspicious. “Well Ruby, I’m sorry that someone put you up to this. I hope you got paid at least. It was quite the lightshow.”

“Um, I’m real Weiss. No one put me up to this, you summoned me.”

“Ok. You’re definitely being paid then.”

“I have wings!”

“Some sort of prop!”

“I appeared out of thin air in front of you!” 

“P-probably some sort of mirror trick!” 

“But you set everything up!”

“I wasn’t thinking clearly!”

It was Ruby’s turn to take a deep breath. She closed her eyes, and Weiss couldn’t help but think in that moment that she looked startlingly radiant, and she knows radiant; she’s seen the most expensive jewelry and gemstones in the world. 

“Weiss, I am not lying to you.” The sincerity in Ruby’s voice and eyes was the kind Weiss had never experienced before. 

Weiss feels every breath she takes for a moment as she stares into Ruby’s eyes. “Then, you really are-” 

Ruby simply nods. Then her stomach growled again and any sort of moment there had been was shattered in an instant. 

“... well I suppose we should find you some food then. But you need to lose that ridiculous getup!” Weiss gestured frantically to the frankly obnoxious armor she was wearing.

“What! My armor is cool!” 

“What if someone sees you!”

Ruby seemed to pause for a second, before making a loud shrug. “I ‘unno.” 

“ _Fuck_ my life.”

“Hey, no swearing!” 

In that moment, Weiss regretted everything that led up to this.  
“Look let’s just… please, Ruby, go back to my room and change. I’ll see if I can put a meal together for us.” 

Ruby smiled from ear to ear, teeth perfect and white.  
“It’s a date!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pokeh: Oh hello i didn't see you there  
> i dunno what to say so please enjoy?


	3. Chapter 3

“Were you flirting with that guy?” 

“ _ Hm _ ?” 

Blake wanted to punch Yang in her stupid fucking face. Her tone was  _ playful, _ like she  _ knew _ it had gotten under Blake’s skin. She felt her ears go red hot with anger at the thought and was half convinced steam was coming out of them. 

She did not like being played with, and so far, Yang had been all games. 

“Was  _ I _ flirting with him? Is that what you said? If so, he fucking  _ wishes _ . I'm the catch of the goddamn millennium.” 

“You can say that again.” Neptune tried to make it so that only Sun could hear him, but he’d never been one for effective subtlety. 

“Neptune, are you seriously hitting on someone you just met?” Blake was very, very exasperated. Ilia seemed to notice and stepped on Neptune’s foot for her. Hard. 

Yang leaned over close next to her in the group’s booth, body much closer to Blake’s than she would have liked. 

“Why, were you jealous?” She whispered on Blake’s already hot ears, raising their temperature even higher. 

“No.” Blake’s response was perfectly curt. 

“Your loss, kitten.” Yang threw her head back and laughed, joining in the chorus of some weird story Nora was telling about her boyfriend, Ren. Blake tried to keep a friendly face on, but if that was going to be her new nickname, she’d be having a strongly worded conversation with her demon  _ friend _ later.

It was weird how easily Yang fit in with everyone; like she’d always been part of the gang. She was funny, friendly, and conversation seemed to settle around her easily, like an old house taking permanent residence in the earth. Blake had never been so extroverted. She didn’t have a large number of friends, but the ones she had were close, people she could really trust. 

The night was blessedly uneventful. The only significant thing of note was that Sun was visiting family in Sydney right before school started back up again; hardly a special event when you already lived in Canberra. 

Blake insisted that she’d walk home with Yang as opposed to taking the taxi with the other three (a taxi she had a sinking suspicion was about to be covered in vomit). Ilia was the only one who had protested slightly, but Blake was able to play it off with the excuse that ‘she and Yang lived nearby each other’, which, technically  _ wasn’t _ a lie. Luckily for her, she was sober enough to walk back home easily enough. Yang seemed to be fine too; the demon clearly had a tough constitution. 

“Phew! That was fun! Your friends can be a real riot.” Yang held her arm tightly behind her as she stretched, letting out a sigh of content as something popped loudly in her neck. 

“Well, I can’t deny that.” Blake acquiesced. She had a good time, despite Yang’s unannounced arrival and continued presence. Her friends didn’t seem to mind her sudden intrusion much either. 

“I didn’t ruin the night for you?” She expected Yang’s tone to be sarcastic, but it came across as surprisingly genuine, apologetic even. 

Blake glanced over at her as they matched step on the sidewalk, capturing the demon’s purple eyes. They were always softer than she anticipated.

“No. I mean, I was worried at first, but I had fun.” 

Yang smiled back at her, content with Blake’s response, golden hair gleaming in the moonlight. Maybe she was the catch of the millennium, for some lucky girl. 

“Seriously, we need to get you a flip phone or something. You can’t keep showing up unexpectedly.” Blake quickly changed the subject without missing a beat. 

“Ooh, a burner phone.” Yang rubbed her hands together as she plotted, resembling a cartoon villain. “Very discrete. Sneaky. I like it.” 

“I never  _ said _ a burner phone, but I mean, yeah. How do you know what a burner phone is? Aren’t you like, ancient? Pretty sure they didn’t have those in the Han dynasty.” 

Yang shrugged. “I watched some TV. I’ve managed to figure things out quickly enough to get some money wired from my sis. It’s been about forty years since I was last walking about. When you’ve been around as long as I have, you figure out how to become a quick study.”

“Wait,” Blake stopped hard on her heels, “sister?” 

“Er, weird immortal-demon-spirit-supernatural thing. Don’t worry about it.” 

“You sure seem to handwave a lot of this stuff.” Blake grumbled. Yang kept going even as she remained in place, only turning about face when she realized Blake wasn’t following. 

“What? Something in my hair? Because if there is-“

Blake’s fists were tight, and she stormed past Yang, who had to jog to get back into step with her. 

“You shrug off everything, you show up to where my friends are, and you  _ still  _ haven’t told me what we’re going to do about Adam! You’ve caused me nothing but problems! You’re just- just go back to hell already!” She stopped again in a huff, breath coming in huge gulps, and she only just noticed that other late night walkers were staring at them and her obvious outburst. 

Yang walked up past her and grabbed her hand, pulling her down into a nearby alleyway, past a cigarette shop just closing up. Probably for privacy. Blake hadn’t even noticed that she’d started crying. 

“Blake,” Yang held both her hands in her own and gripped them tightly, not enough to hurt, but enough to get across how serious she was. Her eyes were red, like a forest burning, a building collapsing. “Adam Taurus is a member of a  _ terrorist  _ organization. I don’t know exactly what he did to you, but I can see in your heart that he hurt you,  _ scarred  _ you. You didn’t deserve that.”

“How did you-“ Blake started before Yang brought a finger up to her lips. 

“Told you, I was investigating. There’s things I can do that you can’t. I’m making a plan, but it’s going to take time.”

She let go of Blake’s hands and took a long breath. “You’ll have to trust me. I’ve never failed a contractor before and I won’t now.”

Blake looked into her eyes,  _ really  _ looked at them, watched a burning sunset fade from red to orange to purple, a whole life lived and cut short and saw the truth in Yang’s eyes. 

“Hang on a second ladies,”

Yang and Blake turned to see the source of the gravelly voice, and watched as a man with a black hoodie obscuring his face shuffle towards them from the other end of the alleyway. 

“What the hell do you want?” Yang took the lead and placed herself firmly in front of Blake, who felt her body go cold and her hands shake and sweat. It didn’t take a genius to realize this guy was trouble. 

He whistled low like a true creep, and the glint of the moonlight revealed his eyes running up and down Yang’s body. Blake felt her blood racing, bubbling to a boil. 

“Just looking for a couple extra bucks for some cigarettes babe. Maybe a fun night at my place if you’re interested…”

“She’s  _ not  _ interested.” Blake wasn’t exactly sure where her courage was coming from, but she stood next to Yang, shoulders back and eyes narrowed dangerously at their accoster. “And we don’t have any cash. Get lost.”

He grunted angrily, before pulling something out of his pocket. There was a stinking metal sound, and within a second he’d flipped out a dangerous looking butterfly knife. 

“Well, that’s a real shame.” He slithered up like a snake, pointing his knife at them as he glared at them viciously.  “I’ll just take whatever you got then. Wallets out girls. Chop chop.”

“Oh, buddy,” Yang didn’t back down for a second and walked right up to him. She was easily as tall as he was, and Blake didn’t need to see her eyes to imagine the coals burning away. “You’re making a really, really big mistake.”

Blake didn’t know what to do. Should she scream? Grab her phone, call the cops? Make a break for it? She watched as Yang stared the man down, arms next to her sides and hands curled into fists. She couldn’t tell if she was frozen in fear or anticipation. 

“Well,” The man began, some of his previous lecherous bravado missing, “I’m the one with the big ol’ knife Blondie.”

“Really?” Yang laughed, voice like poisoned honey. “It doesn’t look very big to me.”

“You-“ His voice was full of anger, privilege challenged, pride hurt, “You bitch!”

His hand moved in a flash and he stabbed Yang, right in her stomach with a vicious strike. She staggered backwards, her hands instinctively going to the wound, trying to stymie the blood leaking out of her abdomen. The man cackled wickedly and stabbed her again, the already red blade plunging into her neck. It was a gory sight as he removed his knife, blood spurting and Yang collapsing to the ground into a quickly forming puddle. 

“Oh my god, Yang no!” Blake screamed, her heart having already exploded in her chest. The stench of iron was overwhelming. She ran towards Yang, body on autopilot, when the man viciously kicked her in the stomach, knocking her off her feet. 

“Told you,” his voice was raspy, breath heavy and dark. “I’m the one with the knife. Give me all your money now you stupid bitch!” 

“Don’t call her that.” Both Blake and the mugger stopped, turned and looked at Yang’s limp form. It was her voice, for sure, but something was seriously wrong with it. Every word had the cracking and seething heat of lava behind it, metal on metal, dark curses. 

The blond’s body awkwardly stood back up, muscles not quite working the way they were supposed to. It was something out of an exorcism movie as Yang came back to her full height, popping something in her neck with a stomach turning crack. 

“Jesus, that really hurts.”

“Y-Yang?”

The mugger just stared, dumbfounded, like anyone would at a creature back from the dead, covered in blood with eyes now glowing, redder than any amount of blood, than any ember. 

“You really fucked up buddy.”

He mumbled something, obscured by his panic, and dropped his knife to the ground. It landed with a very, very satisfying clack. He started shaking violently before turning tail and running, bolting down the alleyway and out into the street, spouting out garbled, incoherent phrases all the way. 

Blake watched as Yang gradually un-clenched her fists, watched her eyes fade from red to lavender after a slow, deliberate blink. The demon’s gaze fell on Blake, who was still clutching her stomach from being kicked earlier. 

“Blake!” Yang ran over to hear and immediately placed a hand in her shoulder, brimming with concern. “Are you ok?”

Blake mind went completely blank. She didn’t even know where to begin. Of all the impossibilities of her time with Yang, this was by far the most jarring. 

“Sh-shouldn’t I be asking you that? He  _ killed  _ you. You’re dead. You should be dead.”

“I was already dead. I died, like, ages ago. What kind of spirit would I be if I got killed by mortal knives?”

“But the cracking--”

“I like the dramatics.”

Blake was starting to quickly realize that getting anywhere with Yang was a torrid ordeal. She dodged questions faster than she could ask them.  

“I’m more worried about you.” Yang sighed, giving Blake’s form a once over. “It’ll take more than that to kill me. You’re a squishy human though.”

“I’m ok.” Blake winced as she placed some pressure on her stomach, ignoring Yang’s comment that she was ‘squishy’. She was certainly tougher than Neptune. “P-probably just some bruising. Thank you, for dealing with him. I had no idea he’d actually…”

“Stab me twice? He’ll think again before he ever pulls a stunt like that again.” Yang chuckled and shot a wink Blake’s way. She looked at her sweetly and threw a thumb over her own shoulder, towards Blake’s home. “Let’s go back. You should rest up.”

“Right.” Blake hadn’t realized how shaky she’d become. All she wanted was to go home, have some tea, and pretend this never happened. She started to walk out of the alleyway when Yang stopped her again, a hand tight on her shoulder. 

“Seriously, are you sure you’re ok? I don’t mean just physically.” Blake met Yang’s serious, no nonsense gaze. Her face was full of worry, eyes half lidded and riddled with concern. 

“Um,” Blake grew more and more aware of her shaking. “I think I’m kind of in shock. I mean, aside from being attacked, I-I saw you die. Even if you’re fine it’s-“

“Pretty shocking and gross?” Yang finished with a half hearted laugh. 

“That’s one way to put it.” Blake stared at where the injury had been in Yang’s neck; it was already healing, a sore looking scab in place of what had been a deadly injury minutes later. She also noticed that Yang’s clothes were completely stained, possibly ruined. 

“Dammit, I just bought that stuff.” Blake’s tone was more humorous than angry (she was far too tired and shaken to be angry), and Yang even laughed in response. “I don’t really know if bleach will get that out.”

“I’ll buy something new.” Yang shrugged. “It was worth it to scare the shit out of that prick, right?”

“I’m not sure literally anyone else would agree with you.” Blake answered in a half sigh half laugh. “Let’s just get back. It’s too late to be dealing with this right now.”

“Lead the way!” Yang threw out a mock salute, met with an eye roll from Blake. She tagged slightly behind Blake, and though the action made her nervous (she felt like she had to keep an eye on the demon at all times), Blake made no signal for Yang to walk perfectly in step with her. 

Yang coughed violently into her arm, receiving a weird glance from Blake before she faced forward again and kept walking. For her part, Yang was trying to make the blood she’d just hacked up look like it'd come from her earlier wounds. There was no reason to bring Blake any extra worry. Not yet, at least. 

 

\-----

 

Ruby had crashed hard after their small meal, following Weiss back to her room before tumbling with sleep deprived glee into Weiss’s large mattress. When she’d returned to check on Ruby later that day the otherworldly being had wrapped herself up in Weiss’s silken sheets, looking as cozy as cat in front of a fire. 

It would have been cute, endearing really, if Weiss had any space of her own to sleep on. Not wanting to incur any otherworldly ire, Weiss simply opted to sleep on the couch in her room instead. It was comfy enough anyways and she had plenty of throws to keep her warm, not that her father ever let the temperature in the mansion go below an ever pleasant 70 degrees Fahrenheit. He was draconian in all ways, especially when it came to the thermostat. 

Her alarm went off as it always did at 7:00 am sharp. Accompanying the loud, incessant beeping was wimpy protest from Ruby. 

“Haven’t you slept enough already?” Weiss loomed over Ruby’s still prone form, tapping her foot impatiently. 

“Mm, I guess so. Your bed is just so comfy!” Ruby wiggled out of the covers like a little worm and hopped onto her feet, wearing a pair of Weiss’s old pajamas. “Like, seriously I felt like I was sleeping on a cloud!”

“You're welcome?” 

Ruby’s grin was as wide as the Schnee mansion was tall. And wide.

“Anyways, we should probably get down to business!”

“I agree.” Weiss could appreciate that at least. She didn't want to waste anymore time when it came to her father. “I… have a plan. Something I think would be real justice for the people my father has hurt.”

“Jacques Schnee.” Ruby said the name with weight, a wisdom, that seemed discordant with her youthful appearance. “A despicable man in every possible way. Violations of the most basic human rights, disgracing economic safety for the average citizen just to pad his own pockets, pathing his way to power with the blood of the innocent, and on top of all that, having the nerve to lay hands on his own family.”

At that point, Ruby’s eyes had gone from a sleek silver to replacing her entire eyeball with a dim white.

“Definitely up there as one of the worst I’ve dealt with.”

Weiss blinked once, then twice. A shiver ran down her spine; she could barely stand to look Ruby in the eyes, her eyes too bright. “You really  _ are _ real. You can see his sins.”

Ruby’s eyes shifted back to cool silver. “I dunno if I’d be that dramatic.” 

Weiss looked at her flatly. 

“Uh, anyways! What’s your plan?” Ruby asked eagerly, hands resting underneath her chin. 

At her prompting, the corners of Weiss’s face turnt up wickedly. “Well, you see, daddy dearest is having a  _ very _ important conference soon.” 

“Ooooh.” Ruby nodded like she understood exactly what Weiss was saying before going, “and that is uh?”

“It’s  _ important _ because I’m going to ruin it. Somehow, at least. I have a few ideas, and now that I have you on my side…” Weiss placed a finger under her chin, musing over all her different options. Oh, there were  _ so _ many things she could do to undermine her father now. His just desserts were well on their way. 

Ruby got up off the bed, kneeled down in front of Weiss. She took the heiress’s hand in her own, and gave her the most earnest expression she’d ever seen. 

“Weiss, I promise, he will face justice. And I’ll help you in whatever way I can.” 

Weiss couldn’t even remember the last time she felt she had someone on her side, someone  _ truly _ on her side. She felt something welling up in her heart like a spring, but she couldn’t recall what the feeling was called. 

“I… thank you.” Weiss played with a loose strand of hair falling out of her ponytail; normally she slept with her hair down, but the previous night had been so strange she’d fallen asleep with it still up. It probably looked terrible. 

“What’s the first step then?” Ruby asked eagerly, clenching her fists with excitement. 

“Well, we could start by getting you dressed.” Weiss coughed. Ruby looked down at her outfit (Weiss’s old silk pajamas) and turned red like an apple. 

“Oh, yep mhm!” Ruby hopped off the bed and started stripping her clothes off. 

“Wh-what are you doing you dolt!?” Weiss was now an equally deep shade of red, or possibly deeper. If there was one thing she’d learned about ‘justice’ so far, it’s that she had the social awareness of a middle schooler. “Go into the bathroom or something! I’ll find you some clothes.” 

“Er, uh, sorry?” 

 

\-----

 

It took Ruby a bit longer to get ready than Weiss anticipated. She decided to take a shower and had been in there an absurdly long time already; her supernatural companion was probably more like a supernatural raisin. 

She browsed her laptop while she waited, trying to figure out what the cheapest flight to Sydney would be while Ruby was gone; they couldn’t interrupt her father’s conference without actually being there after all, unless Ruby turned out to be a master hacker or something. 

She had a fake account in the works and was just waiting on her card. It was too obvious to use one of her current ones. Her father would notice any suspicious activity on them, and that included two plane tickets for a ride halfway around the globe. 

“Hey, Weiss?” Ruby called out from the bathroom with a soft voice. “Can I have some money? Also, how do you send money to people now?” 

“Excuse me?” It seemed like every other thing that came out of Ruby’s mouth was unbelievable. “Are you telling me you want to wire money to someone?” 

“Oh, is that what it’s called?” Ruby walked out of the bathroom half wrapped in a towel, letting out a wall of steam into her bedroom. Weiss opened her mouth to protest, to tell Ruby to go back inside and wait for her to bring some clothes over, but she decided to drop it. One insane thing at a time. 

“Um, yes. But what on earth could you possibly need to do that for? You’ve been here for what, like a day?” 

“Yeah, but my sister-”

Weiss slammed her laptop shut. “Your  _ sister? _ ”

“Mhm. Yeah, her name’s Yang and she’s-”

“You have a  _ sister? _ ”

“Yeah?” Ruby was absolutely perplexed at the redundant question. “You have a sister and a brother so I don’t get the problem here?”

“But you’re,” Weiss gesticulated towards the towel-clad otherworldly being like one would at a poorly dressed priest, “I don’t want to say holy, but you’re certainly not human.”

“Actually, a lot of personifications of traits are human. We just got picked because we’re like, really good at our jobs, and our jobs are less ‘holy’ and more ‘lending a helping hand’.”

“But your... armor?”

“Was given to me by a German armorsmith I helped in… what was the date?” Ruby tapped her lip briefly, before clicking her fingers. “That’s right! It was 1603.”

“ _ Excuse me? _ ” Weiss swore every sentence that came out of Ruby’s mouth made her life more and more confusing. 

“Haha, yeah, real crazy year. You ever been to Prague?” 

“But, the eyes and such… I mean, you’re clearly supernatural. Magic.  _ I’m  _ human. How do you have a sister?” 

“Well, I mean I was human once too! By the way uh, can I have those clothes now? It’s really cold in here!” 

“We are in the German mountainside. It gets quite cold here this time of year.” Weiss decides that her previous conversation was more trouble than it was worth. Get Ruby some clothes, deal with the  _ wanting to send money to her sister  _ later. “I suppose I’m just used to it.” 

“Hehe, you’re like an Ice Queen. In a good way I mean! I mean, you’re so pretty like a princess…”

_ I suppose I am the modern day equivalent of one.  _ Weiss thought to herself, unable to prevent herself from blushing slightly. “I hope you don’t intend on calling me that from now on.”

Ruby batted her eyelashes in an attempt to feign innocence. “I would  _ never _ .” 

Weiss spent the next few hours finding clothes that fit (and looked acceptable) on Ruby. They were around the same height and build, Ruby being somewhat more muscular and (Weiss didn’t want to admit it) a little bit taller. She ended up settling on some of Winter’s old clothes that she’d found abandoned in her room; her older sister wouldn’t even notice they were gone. She hadn’t graced the mansion with her presence in a long while. 

She learned more about who and  _ what _ Ruby was as they worked. She wasn't really an angel so to speak, though Ruby said she found the term endearing. She was something that fell into more of a loose definition; and she  _ had  _ been human once, though she left the details of her transformation incredibly vague. 

Ruby had requested some fresh air, something Weiss found herself craving as well. It was cold outside and the two had to bundle up to stay warm; Weiss was used to it of course. Her part of the world was simply cold. Ruby, on the other hand, was whining and complaining about it almost nonstop. Weiss had even given her a big old red cloak that had been lying around the mansion to help her bundle up over her jacket, but the child friendly swears and complaints continued. 

“Weiss, I'm never gonna be warm again.” Ruby shivered aggressively; Weiss was convinced she had to be faking some of it. “Hold me!”

“I think you'll be fine.” Weiss rolled her eyes, paid Ruby little heed. She opened the door to the bank and held it open for her strange companion. 

“This place is fancy!” Ruby said rather loudly, causing some of the other patrons to stare. 

“Look, we're just going to wire that money to your sister and then go.” Weiss huffed. She knew people inside recognized her; her long white hair, ice demeanor, and the scar vertical against her left eye made her easily identifiable as Weiss Schnee. “Where is she?” 

“Australia! Ironically.”

“That… does seem rather coincidental.”

“Then again, Australia’s a big country. Knowing her luck, she’s probably stuck in the outback.” She drummed her fingers across her newly-inherited jeans. “You got the bank account number? It’s like… a family one we set up to y’know.” Ruby leaned in conspicuously. “Not raise alarms.”

“Yes. I do have the bank account number. And the necessary information. Not to sound like an elitist cretin, but is a couple hundred euros really enough?”

“We’re simple folk, and when our job is done we really don’t need the money anymore. It’s better just going to the people we help when we’re finished.”

“Right. Okay. Just.... just keep yourself occupied with the brochures or something while I go do this. Just don’t draw attention to yourself, please?”

“No problem bob-lem! Inconspicuous mode activated!” Ruby, in a way that was decidedly  _ not  _ inconspicuous, shuffled over to the brochure stack to entertain herself.

The poor clerk seemed to blanche when she realised her customer was a Schnee, and almost fumbled her phone when she approached. The poor girl.

“Good afternoon. I’d like to make a transaction from my private bank to this one here. Three hundred euros, if possible.”

“Uh. Sure! I’d be happy to.” She accepted the slip of paper that Ruby had given her earlier, and typed on her keyboard with a stutter. “I have to ask, since this is unusual, you are not under duress or anything?”

“No, I’m helping out… a friend.”

The woman raised an eyebrow. It was fair really, Schnees weren’t exactly known for their charity.

“Which account would you prefer, Miss Schnee? Your family account, or your private account?”

“Private, please.”

“Of course.”

Weiss was  _ so  _ close to finishing the wire transfer when the glass doors to the bank violently shattered open. A truck burst through the front and sent clientele and bankers alike flying, diving behind whatever cover they could find. She found herself among them, ducking behind the desk with her banker. 

Four masked people poured out of the truck, guns in hand and large black tote bags hanging off of their shoulders. 

_ This is absurd!  _ Weiss found herself thinking. This was something that happened in TV dramas and movies; people in masks weren’t supposed to  _ actually _ rob banks. Weren’t most things handled electronically now anyways? They’d make a better living being hackers. 

Weiss forced her brain to shut up. Her usual snarky attitude wasn’t going to be of any help in this situation. She tried to peek around the desk, looking for Ruby, but she wasn’t able to get a good glance. Hopefully she was okay. She noticed that her heart had started drumming in her chest. Adrenaline finally kicking in. 

“Alright everyone. I think it’s  _ fairly  _ obvious by now that this is a robbery, so just, shut up, stay down, and you’ll be fine!” One of the robbers announced in a calm, almost joking tone. He whistled as he walked around the store, flipping his pistol stylishly around his finger. 

_ What an absolute moron. _ Weiss internally rolled her eyes. 

“Um, excuse me little red.” Weiss snuck around the desk to get a better look; the ‘ringleader’ was tapping a somehow still distracted Ruby on the shoulder. 

“Yes?” She asked in her ever pure and genuine voice. “Wait, are you robbing us?”

“Yes!” The criminal exclaimed, exasperated. 

“ _ Ohhhh.”  _

If Weiss had blinked she would have missed it. Ruby moved swiftly, like an eagle in flight, and kicked the man away from her with a blow straight to the solar plexus. He cried out as best he could, having had the air knocked straight out of his chest, and landed in a heap on the ground, his shotgun bouncing across the white tile floor of the bank. 

“What the- get her!” The ringleader screamed and gestured to his two other goons. They levied their weapons at Ruby, seconds away from firing, when she put a finger up.

“Hold on! Let’s make this somewhat fair.” She trotted over to the nearby cowering bank guard, and pulled a baton out of his holster. “Now we’re even.”

The two crooks gave each other glances of disbelief, shrugged, and then cocked their guns. “Your funeral kid.”

A collective breath was held. Ruby's eyes sharpened, and everyone in the bank could feel the tension, the sweat and the anxiety. It was like a taut rubber band; it could snap at any second. When the first criminal’s muscle twitched, Ruby  _ snapped _ . Not in the sense of losing temper; it was a sudden explosion of energy, playful like a shaken can of soda, violent like an erupting volcano. 

She sprinted directly at him, the muscles in her legs working overtime, and used her free hand to wrench the assault rifle away while body checking him in the opposite direction. In the split milliseconds between, Ruby had ejected the magazine and the round in the chamber and tossed it aside.

The gun hadn’t yet hit the floor when she was back to sprinting towards the good with the shotgun. She twisted around him like an anaconda, simply  _ knowing  _ the man she just tossed aside would be coming after her. She forced the crook to point his weapon at his friend-- or rather: his friend’s crown jewels.

The shock on both of their faces was thoroughly amusing, if only for the briefest moment. Ruby kicked ‘shotgun guy’ (as she had decided to aptly name) in the back of his knee, allowing her to reach across and smack his friend against his skull with her baton. The ‘thwack’ was intensely satisfying, the ricochet reverterbrating through her arm like a cymbal.

The bloke she just possibly ruined the knee of -- human strength was so hard to accurately aim for -- started to squirm underneath her.

“Time for a nap.”

The metal of the handle of the baton hit him squarely in the back of the head, knocking him out cold. Only two more to go. Ruby looked across the bank and saw one, incredibly pale. The other? Incredibly pissed off. 

“You know, you can surrender,  _ and _ you can avoid a mild concussion. I really won’t take offense. Limited time offer!”

Somehow, the man became even more pissed. Metaphorical steam poured out of his ears as he raised his firearm with an aggressive cry. Ruby simply chucked her weapon with as much a strength as she thought acceptable, and hit the man right between his eyes. Like a downed tree, he fell over backwards and hit the floor with a thick  _ thwump _ .

“Surrender.” She said it one more, smiling from ear to ear. 

The final robber dropped his gun. “That seems fair. I’ll… I’ll go tie myself up.”

“Would you? That would be so great!” 

He walked away sheepishly into a corner, hands behind his head with the grace and poise of a man who just pissed himself. Ruby let out a proud sigh wand walked over to where Weiss was, strongly resembling a puppy expectant of praise. 

“The coast is clear!” She said, shoulders back and a haughty smile on her face.

“What on  _ earth  _ was that!?” Weiss hissed in response. Ruby was taken aback. “What happened to a  _ low profile?” _

“Uh. A robbery happened?” 

Weiss narrowed her eyes as thin as snowflakes. “We have to go. Now. God, maybe we can erase the camera footage somehow…” She got up and immediately started walking towards the back exit, clearly hoping to leave before the cops got there. 

Ruby looked like she was going to protest; she  _ was  _ going to protest when the poor innocent teller Weiss had been working with called out:

“Oh, Ms. Schnee? That transfer went through.” 

“Oh.” Weiss froze in place. This was certainly incriminating. “Thank you uh…”

“Candace m’am!” 

“Thank you Candace.” Weiss smiled as sweetly as she could given the situation and ran over to Ruby. She grabbed her by the hood in one sharp motion. 

“We are  _ leaving!”  _

“But Candace is so nice-”

“Leaving!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> h this one. is a beast. it took so long because our lives are busy and also we were ramming our head against the metaphorical wall with this one. some of the author notes in the document is us just writing FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK over and over again. and sometimes pokeh's cat running across the keyboard. god we're tired

**Author's Note:**

> Pokeh: Oh my goodness another au  
> We'll be alternating uploads of this here fic and the tattoo au so that just means more fic overall for ya! im too much of a slut for any kind of supernatural au ~~dont worry about that vampire one i never finished~~ so i decided we had to get this up n running  
> Thanks for reading!


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